Robert A. "Bootie" Barker III (born March 2, 1971) is a crew chief who works for 23XI Racing as the crew chief for their No. 23 (and temporarily the No. 45) Toyota Camry driven by Bubba Wallace in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the past, Barker has worked for Ashton Lewis, Bill Davis Racing, Jasper Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports and Germain Racing. Barker was also a television co-host on NASCAR Performance, a weekly program on the now-defunct Speed Channel. Early life Barker grew up just next door to South Boston Speedway but was a fan of "stick and ball" sports rather than car racing. He played football as a linebacker and was paralyzed from the waist down after sustaining injuries in a car accident while a senior in high school. Barker studied engineering at Old Dominion University and his focus was quickly redirected to motorsports. Barker graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1994. As a junior studying mechanical engineering, Barker heard Benny Parsons on the radio talking about engineers who build shock absorbers for race cars, Barker realized that racing would be the perfect industry for putting his engineering degree to use while still maintaining his interest in competition. Shortly after hearing Parsons, Barker began to spend time in the infield at South Boston Speedway. His first racing job was selling tires in South Boston and working for driver Ashton Lewis on his late model team. Barker has written a variety of magazine columns over the years and has been a regular guest on NASCAR RaceHub on Fox Sports 1. Racing career For most of 2006, Barker was the crew chief for the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet driven by Jeff Green. His visibility to NASCAR fans increased in 2006. Barker wrote a weekly column for NASCAR.com titled "Urban Legends," in which he addressed myths and questions about various aspects of racing. Barker was also a frequent guest on NASCAR RaceDay, a preview show for weekly NASCAR events on the now defunct Speed Channel. In 2007, Barker was the crew chief for Johnny Sauter and the No. 70 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet. The team had two top tens with finishes of 9th at Phoenix in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and 5th at Richmond in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. That August, Barker and the No. 70 team were featured as part of ABC's NASCAR in Primetime,